Where There's Soup, There's Life

TERRADAILY

Early Earth was a hot environment, and it's possible that some of the life that we see today in hot springs in places like Yellowstone National Park and at deep-sea hydrothermal springs along mid-ocean ridges may share some common metabolic features with their early Earth ancestors.

Edinburgh - June 27, 2001
But we're talking gourmet soup. That is, gourmet geochemical "primordial soups" in hot springs and hydrothermal springs in the oceans that support novel chemolithotrophic thermophiles.

If we can understand these heat-loving little critters, then we may confirm what microbial ecologist Anna-Louise Reysenbach suspects--they were the earliest ancestors of all life.

So determining what life exists in hot springs today is one of the first steps to define what early life on a hot planet may have been like.

These thermophiles "living in hot springs are microscopic, and are hard to identify just by looking at them under the microscope," explained Reysenbach from Portland State University. She uses biogeochemical, molecular, and microbiological approaches to study the ecology of thermophiles.

"Essentially there are two ways to identify these microbes; either by trying to grow them, or by using molecular techniques that identify an evolutionarily conserved gene, a sort of fingerprint, of the organism. Using a combination of these approaches, we have been able to grow a very prevalent and important member of hydrothermal ecosystems.

"This group of organisms are chemolithoautotrophs, they use inorganic energy and carbon sources, and are the deepest lineage within the universal tree of life," she explained.

"Although the trunk and base of the tree of life are much debated, these few pieces of evidence suggest that this group of organisms may be a good proxy for studying early Earth life.

"Understanding how these organisms fossilize, what remaining biological signatures they may leave behind, how they precipitate minerals etc. will perhaps help us interpret the rock record here on Earth and other planets more effectively."

The important member of this group is the Aquificales, a deeply-rooted lineage that is common in both terrestrial and deep-sea hydrothermal systems. Reysenbach looks forward to receiving the genome of one of the isolates, "Persephonella marina," which will be available in a few months.

"I think it will definitely show what type(s) of carbon fixation pathways this organism has, how it gets some of it's essential elements, N, C, P, etc.," she said.

"What I am also very interested in is how different or similar it is to its relative Aquifex. When the genome sequence of Aquifex was released, it rocked the boat a little, since it showed that this organism is a VERY modern organism...and not what some thought would be typical of a 'primitive' -ancestral organism."

Reysenbach is presenting her research "Gourmet Geochemical "Primordial Soups" at Hydrothermal Vents Support Novel Thermophilic Chemolithotrophs: Implications for the Evolution of Life on Early Earth" on Wednesday, June 27, at the Earth Systems Processes conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TERRADAILY

Reflections From a Warm Little Pond

University Park - May 8, 2001
Back in 1953, Jim Kasting said, scientists thought they had the origin of life figured out. Chemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey at the University of Chicago had simulated that crucial instant around 3.9 billion years ago when a batch of simple inorganic molecules, zapped by a bolt of lightning (or maybe just the sun's warmth during a break in the clouds), fell together to form the prototypes for the complex organic compounds that life is made from.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.